As the plastics industry continues to grow, so does the concern for using biodegradable and environmentally-friendly products. Prospector currently has several ways to find biodegradable and recycled materials in our database, and we expect the number of materials that meet those criteria to grow substantially in the near future. Our database now contains information from over 630 global resin suppliers, many of which are now supplying biodegradable products. In this blog, I’d like to take you through a few different ways to find biodegradable materials.
The first way is by using one of Prospector’s advanced features, the Property Search. In the general properties folder, you can search on features such as “Biodegradable” and “Recyclable Material”. We also have a folder called “Recycled Content”, where you can select yes or no on that property.
Not all suppliers specify properties like “biodegradable” or “recyclable” on their datasheets, but if you are familiar with a company that manufacturers “green” materials you can also use Prospector to quickly search based on supplier name. One of the most well-known manufacturers of biopolymers, NatureWorks, has their materials listed in Prospector. You can use the Quick Search toolbar to enter their name, and then hit “Search” to view all of their products, including one alloy from BASF. Click here for a list of some of the biopolymer suppliers already in Prospector.
![clip_image002[8]](http://ides.typepad.com/prospector/WindowsLiveWriter/clip_image0028.jpg "clip_image002[8]")
You can use the quick search toolbar to search for “biodegradable” as well as “recycled”.
Also, using the Fast Lookup tool, you can find materials, such as PLA, that are available in your area. In this example, I chose PLA materials available in North America.
![clip_image002[10]](http://ides.typepad.com/prospector/WindowsLiveWriter/clip_image002%5B10%5D.jpg "clip_image002[10]")
We realize the growing importance of being able to search for these types of materials and would love to hear your feedback on how to make this search even easier. Please take a moment to fill out this short questionnaire and as always, don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or any thoughts you have on searching for biopolymers!
Comments